Submissions may be made in two categories: traditional and expedited response. Traditional submissions are free of charge, and will receive a response in about three months, typically after our closing date for submissions. These responses, due to the number of submissions, will be “general” replies—a fairly simple yes or no as far as acceptance is concerned. For a $3 fee, expedited submissions will receive a response in no more than one month from submission date.

Although we will not be able to always provide specific feedback, we will attempt to do so when we can.

We seek works that fit in some way within the magical realist, fabulist, or surrealist tradition—think writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude), Jorge Luis Borges (“The Library of Babel,” “The Aleph,” etc.), Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits), and contemporary writers such as Jeanette Winterson, Kate Bernheimer, and Alissa Nutting. Although we have no specific aesthetic sensibilities that guide our selection process, the most successful stories will blend the magical and the real in some way to lead to some truth about the human condition, all while being attentive to the possibilities of the English language.

Please only submit one short story of no more than 4,000 words or two flash fictions (under 1,000 words each) at a time, and please do not submit again until you have heard back from us. Works longer than 4,000 words will be rejected immediately. As far as formatting goes, please follow industry standards: contact information on the first page along with word count, with your last name and page numbers on subsequent pages. No frills please—fancy borders and colored and non-traditional fonts will do nothing but draw negative attention to your work; 12-point Times New Roman is always a good way to go. We’re particularly interested in shorter work, as our journal is small and longer works that take up more space must be of highest quality.

Please include a brief cover letter on the Submittable site, but do not do so in your actual manuscript.

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your work through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere (and please note that you are submitting simultaneously in your cover letter). There is no worse feeling that accepting a piece only to have it withdrawn after we have done so. While withdrawing a piece before we’ve responded will yield our congratulations, finding out after we’ve tried to accept work will result in angry fist-shaking (and we will also be rather unlikely to accept your work in the future).

We do not accept previously published work (including your personal blog). We ask for First North American Serial rights, and all copyright remains with the author; we simply ask that, should your work be published again elsewhere that The Gateway Review be acknowledged as the original publisher.

We may, on occasion, ask a contributor or two to allow us to include their work on our website (in addition to its inclusion in the print journal), but we will discuss that individually as the situation dictates. If you know you would prefer not to have this done with your work, please note in your cover letter.

Contributors will receive one contributor copy of the issue in which their work appears. Although we cannot offer any monetary payment at this time, we hope to be able to do so in the future.

Cover Art

We are seeking original art for both our cover and to feature on our website. We accept photographic or original art that has been scanned and submitted as a jpeg. Please submit only one piece at a time, via our Submittable site, indicating whether you would like it to be considered for our website, the cover of an upcoming issue, or both.

The Fabulist and Fantastic Flash Fiction Contest is open to any writer, and is the only time during the year that we accept flash fiction submissions.

Each entry is $5, and can contain one or two pieces of flash fiction, each no longer than 1000 words. Writers may submit however many entries they wish, so long as they pay the $5 entry fee for each entry. Simultaneous submissions are welcome and encouraged, but submitters must withdraw their work--the fee is nonrefundable in these cases--should it be accepted elsewhere. Partial withdrawals are fine and can be made via email to thegatewayreview@gmail.com; simply include your name and identify which piece in your entry is being withdrawn.

Entries must be submitted double-spaced and with no identifying information included; any entry that does not follow these guidelines will be immediately disqualified. Any piece that is over 1,000 words will also face automatic disqualification.

All work should fit within the traditions of fabulism, surrealism, or magic realism. We are not interested in science fiction or high fantasy, and these are unlikely to be selected as winners.

Prizes:

Unlike our Writing Competition, the Fabulist and Fantastic Flash Fiction Contest does not have a set prize. Instead, the prize is determined based on the number of entries as follows:

We accept and print single full-page, black and white advertisements for literary journals and presses, and we accept them year-round. Submit here if you would like to run an advertisement in two issues, at a slightly reduced price. Please submit either a Word Document (.doc) or JPG.

We accept and print single full-page, black and white advertisements for literary journals and presses, and we accept them year-round. Submit here if you would like to run an advertisement in a single issue. Please submit either a Word Document (.doc) or JPG.